Neiman Marcus Taps Liz Asay for Last Call Division

She was formerly senior vice president of e-commerce and Sephora at J.C. Penney Co. Inc.

Liz Asay has joined the Neiman Marcus Group Inc. as senior vice president of the Last Call division.

“Last Call, the off-price division of Neiman Marcus Group, will continue to expand through the Last Call Studios concept as well as lastcall.com,” said Karen Katz, president and chief executive officer of Neiman Marcus Group.

“We think Liz will not only fit well into our strong service-oriented culture, but she will bring leadership ability that is crucial to this growth area of the company,” Katz added. “With her strong background in building new concepts and e-commerce, Liz has the experience and expertise to lead our Last Call division. More importantly, she has the energy and imagination to enhance how our Last Call customers shop and interact with the brand both on- and offline.”

Asay was senior vice president of e-commerce and Sephora at J.C. Penney Co. Inc. She officially starts at NMG on Aug. 4 and succeeds Ann Paolini, who left last December to join The RealReal, an online consignment site for luxury.

Unlike the Last Call outlets, the Last Call Studio stores have “no residues” of merchandise that didn’t sell at Neiman’s and operate as off-pricers. Eighty percent of the Last Call Studio assortment is supplied by the same Neiman’s vendor base, but the merchandise, which emphasizes contemporary lines, is different.

In a recent interview, Katz described the environments at Last Call Studio as “clean and modern” and the customers as “affluent yet still price-sensitive.” Last Call Studio stores are 15,000-square-foot, loftlike settings, compared with the 25,000-square-foot Last Call outlets. Katz believes Last Call Studio outlets can operate in a variety of settings, from lifestyle centers to downtowns and next to regular-price retailers.

Last Call currently operates 30 Last Call clearance centers, eight Last Call Studio stores, as well as lastcall.com.

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